Miami-FSU game reaffirms South Florida's recruiting dominance

As many as 65 BCS-level prospects attended Saturday's game.

Saturday night's Miami-Florida State game made a statement that had nothing to do with Seminole dominance or Miami mediocrity.

In case anyone forgot, South Florida is still a hotbed for college football prospects, and Saturday's game made that clear to the rest of the nation.

I'd venture to say no contest last week welcomed more prospects.

It's impossible to get a number on exactly how many prospective players were in attendance at Sun Life Stadium, as schools cannot publicize a prospective student-athlete's visit to the institution's campus. (And isn't it a cruel bit of irony that Sun Life Stadium counts as on-campus?)

But that doesn't stop the prospects from publicizing their visit, and in this age of social media, the promotion was steady and widespread.

There might have been as many as 65 BCS-level prospects at the game.

The massive turnout shows Miami still has a huge advantage in recruiting, but the question remains how the Hurricanes keep visitors in town?

Truth is, it'll never be the same for Miami.

Florida State has made massive inroads into Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties since Jimbo Fisher took over the head coaching job. In that same period of time, South Florida has been inundated by out-of-state schools looking to tap into the pipeline from which Miami once held almost exclusive rights.

Fisher has brilliantly made FSU Miami's foil, and he's identified the kind of players he's looking to sign from the region. If South Florida kids don't want to go to Miami, he's going to make sure they stay in state.

"You have two kinds, in my opinion: the kids that are truly loyal to Miami, the university, but even the city, they want to stay; or guys that want to get out," Fisher said last week.

The number of players that want to get out is higher than ever. As Miami has taken a fall, the allure of The U has slipped.

Miami didn't have to recruit South Florida when it was at the top of college football. If a South Florida player was good, going to Miami was almost a given — it was up to other schools to recruit that player away.

That's hardly the case anymore, but after Saturday's game, UM coach Al Golden knows that he has South Florida players' attention. That was not a given when he took the job. What he does with it will define the success of Miami going forward.

Paladins pair

South Plantation running back and Miami commit Alex Collins said in the preseason that he was keeping his commitment open, in part to help his teammates get more looks from bigger schools.

Sure enough, Collins' intentions are paying dividends for his teammate and good friend John Franklin.

The South Plantation quarterback talked with Wisconsin defensive coordinator Charlie Partridge last week. The Paladins' undefeated start to the season and Franklin's strong play have peaked the interest of the Badgers, who are no doubt looking to parlay a Franklin commitment with a Collins switch.

The 6-foot-2 senior can play either wide receiver or quarterback at the next level, though he'd prefer to do the latter. After what he called a "statement game" last Friday, recruiting schools might agree.

South Plantation went without Collins for all but three plays against Nova and Franklin turned in another superb performance, notching 209 yards and four touchdowns.

Franklin has made it no secret that Wisconsin is his top choice (he holds offers from Air Force, Navy, FIU and Temple), but the Badgers are yet to offer.

If — or rather, when — they do, Franklin's decision will likely be easy, but it will make Collins' much more difficult.